Cable industry giant known for his unrelenting negotiations

Liberty Media Chairman, John Malone holds his ground

By Eric Peterson

Published: 2017.05.22 12:24 AM

JOHN MALONE, 76

Chairman of Liberty Media, Liberty Global and Liberty Interactive

With a net worth of $7.2 billion, Malone is one of the giants of the cable industry. He served as CEO of Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), the pioneering Denver company for more than 20 years before its 1999 acquisition by AT&T.

Malone hasn't slowed down in the years since, overseeing Liberty Media and its holdings in numerous media and entertainment companies spanning the Atlanta Braves, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and stakes in numerous notable companies. Known as a cunning dealmaker — he's earned the nicknames "Mad Max" and "Darth Vader" for his unrelenting negotiating style — Malone maintains a surprisingly low profile.

In 2011, he surpassed Ted Turner as the largest landowner in the U.S.; his holdings of more than 2 million acres include numerous ranches in the Rockies.

Denver-based writer Eric Peterson is the author of Frommer's Colorado, Frommer's Montana & Wyoming, Frommer's Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks and the Ramble series of guidebooks, featuring first-person travelogues covering everything from atomic landmarks in New Mexico to celebrity gone wrong in Hollywood. Peterson has also recently written about backpacking in Yosemite, cross-country skiing in Yellowstone and downhill skiing in Colorado for such publications as Denver's Westword and The New York Daily News. He can be reached at Eptcb126@msn.com